In Goa, she is known as the daughter of of Agnelo and Olive Paes from Bainfoll, Assolna. In
Mumbai and in the world of advertising, she is considered one of the most
talented advertising and marketing professionals and her creative genius has
seen her receive many awards, recognising her as one of the industry’s best.
“I don’t work for awards, but they act as
a great validation of all the hard-work that goes into getting a campaign out.
As a professional who is being reviewed by stalwarts and industry bodies, it’s
an endorsement and a big confidence booster to keep pushing to achieve
excellence,” says the humble Serena Paes.
At the age of 29, she was featured amongst
Social Samosa’s Top 30 Under 30 winners from the advertising industry, poised
to be future leaders of creative, media and digital agencies for the year 2018.
Earlier,she was featured as IMPACT Media’s
Top 30 Under 30 winners from the advertising industry poised to be future
leaders of creative, media and digital agencies for the year 2016. In 2015, the
Advertising Council of India chose Serena as one of only six of the most
promising advertising professionals from India. She was sent for an
all-expenses paid training program to further hone her skills. This program
took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, featuring the brightest minds from Asia.
These are just some of the trophies won by
Serena, who has also won numerous awards for the campaigns created for various
clients across brands and organisations.
Speaking about her future plans going
forward against this backdrop and about what drives her, it is clear that
Serena has that hunger for excellence and that, in many ways, has led her to
the kind of success she has achieved so far: “The plan is to keep creating
meaningful and impactful conversations that not only impact business but build
brand relevance. If I get too comfortable, I know it’s time to move on. If I’m
terrified – I usually know I’m on the right track. So, the plan is to keep
challenging myself to do excellent work. To constantly keep myself abreast with
what’s happening globally in the field of advertising. Mediocrity breeds
mediocrity – so I look forward to setting benchmarks wherein I’m not only the
best in my organisation but also have my work realised on an industry level,
whether in India or globally,” says Serena.
Addressing young, aspiring Goans who wish
to pursue a career in the advertising industry, Serena says it is important to
choose the field of advertising and marketing only if you love it and only if
building brands truly gets you excited. “It’s true what people say – if you
love your job, you will never work a day in your life. In this field, no two
days are the same. Each day brings a new challenge; every day will see your
views being questioned. Be ready to take it all in your stride and learn. Be
ready to stand by your convictions. Know that the customer is king and there is
nothing else that supersedes it. In this field, you need to choose to be
unstoppable, choose to challenge yourself irrespective of all the things that
might be stacked up against you. That’s what will get you to excel.”
Looking back at her own journey, Serena, who graduated from St
Xavier’s College Mumbai, started her career as Account Executive at Adfactors
PR in June 2008 until Nov 2009. Her work was highly recognised by her Account
Director there. When she quit to join TechTarget Inc, a Boston based media firm
opening its base in Mumbai, she was absorbed into his team as Manager –
Marketing & Audience Development. She was the youngest Manager for the
portfolio to be hired at 22 years of age. In February 2013, she joined Jack in
the Box Worldwide as Business Manager. Within six months of joining, she was
promoted to Group Account Manager and was at that position when she left the
organisation in February 2014. She managed the biggest mandate at the
organisation, which was Louis Philippe along with the entire portfolio for
NIVEA India.
Thereafter, she joined OgilvyOne Worldwide as Group Account
Manager in May 2014. She handled the digital and mainline media mandate for
various top clients. By the end of the year, she was promoted to Business
Director at the organisation. Her journey there ended in December 2015.
Donning the role of client, she joined Star TV as Assistant
Manager, where she worked extensively on building brands on digital platforms
by increasing reach and engagement through innovation. “The most unique perk of
the job was the opportunity to work on the strategy to promote The Oscars in
India – not only on digital but a 360-media approach,” says Serena who is
clearly quite passionate about her work.
Her
latest role is that of Manager- Marketing at IndiaFirst Life Insurance.
IndiaFirst Life is one of the fastest growing life insurance players in India.
It is a joint venture between two of India’s public-sector banks – Bank of
Baroda and Andhra Bank, and UK’s financial and investment company Legal &
General. Her role there is not only to manage the digital strategy for the
company but she has a chance to completely be part of a re-branding exercise
from idea, strategy to execution that includes PAN India print, OOH, hoardings,
radio, digital, in-office branding and mobile innovations. “The idea of being
at the helm of building the brand at this nascent stage and really contributing
towards changing perspectives in an industry that thrives on messages around
‘fear’ is what drove me to take up this role and position,” says Serena.
